3 | BUSINESS LIFT August 07, 2017 | VOL. 53, No. 32
13 | ALLIED AGAINST CANCER
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Newtown's Lexington Gardens slow to fill, but planners say momentum is building BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com
Michelle Muoio wants to develop a master plan for the city of Bridgeport’s money-losing facility. Photo by Phil Hall
Sikorksy Airport’s future still up in the air BY PHIL HALL phall@westfairinc.com
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ast October, Sikorsky Memorial Airport garnered media attention with the dedication of a rebuilt runway that had been closed for two years, leav-
ing the airport with only one operating runway. Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim arrived at the dedication ceremony in a private jet and praised the upgrades as a start for better things to come. Ganim said the improvements, which included a 300-foot arresting system, new runway lighting and new security fence,
were “sorely needed” and moved the airport “forward for decades to come.” Forward movement is not commonplace at Sikorsky, which is owned by the city of Bridgeport but located in the neighboring town of Stratford. The runway upgrade was 20 years in the making. A 1994 crash that killed eight people highlighted the need for the safety arresting system at the end of the runway but funding was not available until a few years ago. Forward movement in commercial aviation technology killed Sikorsky’s viability as a passenger-flight destination in the late 1990s. The shift from turboprop engines to turbofan-powered regional jets » Sikorksy, page 6
“Where is everybody?” It’s a fair question to ask for Melanie Allen, whose Avance Day Spa last July became the first business to officially open in Newtown’s highly touted Village at Lexington Gardens. There is a total of 65,500 square feet available for businesses at the multi-building commercial complex at 32 Church Hill Road. At a year-plus after Avance relocated there from Newtown’s Sand Hill Plaza, at 228 S. Main St., the site remains vacant — except for the 3,000-square-foot day spa, the 3,000-square-foot Newtown Counseling Associates and the 15,000 square feet occupied by anchor tenant Dental Associates, making it the largest dental facility in the state. Allen said that the clientele built during Avance’s 25-year history has kept her 14 employees busy but that she’s been disappointed by the lack of new tenants. “We get some spillover from Dental Associates,” she said, “and our customers come in and remark about what a beautiful space it is. But we’re sort of here all by ourselves. We used to hear a lot of rumors about what’s coming in — a Mexican restaurant, an Italian restaurant, an organic juice bar — but we haven’t heard anything lately. “We’re wondering about what’s going on just as much as everybody else,” she added. Compounding the visual impression of unrealized potential is the fact that Avance » Newtown, page 6